Louisiana can definitely “handle” this truth. A February sports betting handle totaling over $238 million was reported at the Louisiana Gaming Control Board’s March meeting.
Also true: mobile/online sports betting, which had launched here at the end of January, accounts for 90% of that handle.
Together, the state’s six mobile sportsbooks generated wagers of a little above $211 million, which came to almost $16.7 million in adjusted gross revenue. Combine this with the last four days of January, when sports betting in the Pelican State first became available, which makes $251.5 million.
All told, the state’s February sports betting handle rose a whopping 165.7% from January’s (but again, legal sports betting was only available for the last four days that month). Year-over-year, February saw a 31% increase in casino revenues.
February sports betting handle numbers by the sport
Football led the field again — no doubt helped by the Super Bowl — with casinos and mobile sportsbooks taking in $9.1 million in revenue overall.
On the other hand, retail operators paid out over $700,000 more in football bets than received in wagers in February.
Basketball came in second, generating revenues totaling $5.6 million. Parlays performed well, too, bringing in almost $5.1 million; 87.2% gets attributed to online wagering.
Soccer fans soc’d it to the operators, though, leaving the latter with a $201,643 net loss.
Tennis, hockey, golf, and the other sports lumped into the “other” category brought in $1.5 million.
Louisiana’s land-based casino numbers took off in February
The New Orleans land-based casino topped everyone else in February revenue, gaining 13.9% in January to the tune of $20.2 million.
Video gaming brought in revenue totaling $71.1 million for the month, climbing 8.5% from January’s $65.5 million. Louisianans can play on video gaming devices at restaurants, bars, hotels, and truck stops; there are over 12,000 such devices in the state.
Riverboat casinos climbed from $145.9 million to $151.65 million, an upwards trajectory of around 4%. And lastly, racino slots increased by 2.5%, from January’s $24.6 million to $25.2 million.
Altogether, this represents an increase of 5.7% or $15 million over January.
Gambling revenue taxes are good news for Louisianans
After a January deficit attributed to promotional monies offered by operators, mobile sports betting is now providing an economic boost to the state in terms of taxes. It brought in about $2.2+ million in taxes, with another $642,663 coming in via retail wagering taxes.
Louisiana taxes sports betting revenue at 10 percent for sports wagering conducted at a retail location. For revenue generated through mobile applications or websites, there is a 15 percent tax on sports-betting revenue.
Gambling tax revenue collected by the state goes to early childhood education, the Louisiana Association on Compulsive Gambling, behavioral health, social programs. Additional funds are allocated to the parishes, while the remaining 68% goes into the state’s general fund.